The Mobian Empress: A Love Story
by Savar de Sance
Summary: 20 years into the future, it's up to Sally to fight the forces of evil as she goes up against Robotnik's most dangerous creation to date.
1. Chapter 1

The Mobian Empress: A Love Story

By Savar de Sance

_My first attempt at this sort of thing, comments, questions and the like are welcome. _

_Disclaimers and legalese: Sonic the Hedgehog Characters © Sega. Commander Packbell is © David Pistone, all used without permission. _

_Hudson, Daelyn, Jonas and Ayala, are © Moi ;)_

_Annnnnnd the warning: This story contains some pretty violent/disturbing situations, reader discretion is advised… so there. _

_Enjoy!_

PART I: The Maiden

_Dr. Robotnik studied the infant. She had a playful manner and exhibited precociousness and defied her age of now a mere 5 minutes._

_She was a conscientious baby- constantly scrutinizing the world around her. She examined the scientist with discriminating eyes as he held her out at arms length, partly examining her back, and partly because he had no idea what exactly to do with her._

_The tyrant treated her as he would any other project that he became obsessively immersed in. His savant-like fanaticism blurred out all else and nothing, not sleeping, bathing, not even eating could take priority over this scientific enterprise. As far as he had been previously concerned, this would be the end all be all of his experiments "the one that would change everything"._

_And although for all intents and purposes, this baby came out perfect, and there was no notable problem with his creation, he found himself disappointed with the finished product._

_She was much too organic for his liking. There was something about her that was entirely too animate, too mortal too... human._

_Only moments before, he remembered feeling a flush of pride when he'd opened the pod that had been her temporary nursery and scooped out its contents, but it was the kind of pride one had for a completed work of art, or an arduous tasks that had been completed. It certainly was not the pride a parent had for his offspring. And looking into this tiny baby's eyes, a part of him had realized that there were many aspects of his plan that he had not only overlooked, but could not have even foreseen._

_At no point in this endeavor did he consider the consequence of his actions- or at least a very important aspect of this- the creation of a living breathing being. A being that required warmth, guidance, acceptance... love? All things that he avoided at any cost... all things that he abhorred._

_He was repelled, absolutely disgusted at the thought of being responsible in the development for another human being._

_She was flawless in every way. She excelled in intelligence, strength_ _and was even equipped with precious regenerative abilities. If these qualities weren't enough for her to earn her keep, she was also the most beautiful baby, he begrudgingly admitted to himself, that he had ever seen. With a shock of thick curly jet black hair, smooth, soft porcelain skin, and vivid green eyes the color of spring._

_Nonetheless, he was overwhelmed by the reflex to suddenly destroy her. Such was the panic that was beginning to rapture him at the thought of his sudden and unexpected paternal obligation. Panic also at unknown feelings stirred by this tiny life; brand new feelings completely foreign and unwelcome to the tyrant. Repugnant feelings that made him feel bungling and weak._

_In another life, this child would have been loved and cherished to the highest degree. She was beyond anything two parents could fathom or hope for; a sprightly, irresistible little nymph who possessed a smile and laugh that could melt one's heart. _

_Yet fate has dictated that she be ushered into the hearth of a heartless tyrant who had no knowledge of compassion or gentleness._

_"Snively..." Robotnik called out in a somewhat dejected tone to his lackey who had been nearby in order to assist Robotnik with his project. Obediently, he came and retrieved the bundle that the doctor held out to him. "Find something to do with it," he said and with that, he stalked out of the lab._

_Snively, quite confused at this sudden coolness and lack of enthusiasm at something that Robotnik simply would not shut up about for the past 6 months held the baby close to his chest, suddenly overcome with the need to protect this tiny girl, noting how soft her small hands were as they played across his face._

The cloudless fall sky was at its bluest, the sun at its apex. The smell of moss and grass filled the crisp air as the trees, now the color of the sunset, swayed in the autumn breeze.

A single golden leaf came unhinged from its tree and floated along the breast of the windy sky. The updraft swept it high and far across the rivers, and meadows of the majestic Great Forest. It was blown to a clearing where the wind finally laid it to rest among its brethren on their plush, green bed.

Moments later, the blanket of fall leaves was disrupted by a crash as a Mobian, Jonas, a black striped white tiger, hit the grassy ground with a thud. He rolled about, barely conscious and groaning. He had just barely come to when he realized that his assailant was right above him, and he feebly struggled as his aggressors, at this point numbered at two, were in the process of hauling him away.

They were the metallic goliaths of Robotropolis. Sent like a scourge to the Great Forest to seize the innocents that Robotnik was collecting for his empire like a demon collecting souls.

Jonas continued to struggle. The heartily built tiger, normally strong and robust was now as weak as a mouse. The bots were taking him, as well as hundreds of other captives, to a temporary stronghold ran by none other than Packbell and Snively, Robotnik's brainchild and nephew.

At this particular moment, the two were looking over statistics on their database. A smile played over the androids face as he fathomed the immense count of prisoners they had captured. The last few months had been pretty dry, and he feared that they may have exhausted their resources.

_...Shoulda known..._, the droid thought wickedly to himself. ..._at the rate that those little buggers breed, we'll never be at a loss for this kinda entertainment!_

Packbell's reputation for sadism preceded him. For nearly three decades, he had maimed and tortured his way into the hearts of countless Mobians. Known for his intense hatred and cruelty toward every living thing, he never disappointed when it came to his forte of persecution.

"My, my, look at all the little piggies!" Packbell said partly to Snively, and partly to himself. He thought greedily about all of the grim experiments that he would perform on all the pretty Mobian girls, with their trembling lips and frightened wide eyes. He could scarcely contain himself.

Snively cast a cavalier glance in Packbell's direction that seemed to ooze pretension, "Packbell, there are scarcely any pigs on this infernal rock much less this group!"

Packbell licked his finger and proceeded to shove it roughly into Snively's ear. The tiny man made a loud sound of dismay and shrugged off his android partner. Packbell guffawed boisterously. No matter how he was feeling, he always got a kick out of teasing the little guy.

Now annoyed, Snively muttered to himself as looked over the statistics for the third time. It was a job that he used to detest, but after doing it for so long, he'd gotten quite used to it. Being 4th in command, he usually got the brunt of the so-called 'bitch' work. His eyes quickly skimmed over the report; October 7, 3255. It was hard for him to believe that it had been 30 years since he had been seduced to this "infernal rock". 30 years since his unsavory uncle duped him into going on the fateful endeavor to Mobius that would end in so much heartbreak on his part. How young and hopeful he had been then. So trusting and naive.

He rolled his beryl blue eyes and tried to shake off his feelings of resentment and give his full attention to the task at hand.

Packbell has stalked off to oversee the capture. He looked as becoming as he did threatening in his uniform; a black long tailed doublet with red trim, black pants and black lace-up knee-high boots accessorized with a sizeable laser rifle, a weapon that scarcely left his side. A bit overdressed, he exuded a confident arrogance from every pore. He felt that nothing could touch him. He was the true master of his domain.

As per usual, the Mobian creatures who ranged from mountain lions, to tigers, to raccoons, to bears, to foxes of all ages and both sexes were either viciously cursing the two humanoids, or hysterical with fear and grief. Either way, Snively and Packbell had been doing this sort of thing for so long that this raucous had eventually become white noise.

Snively thought in passing about how well they had done that day. They managed to capture over 500 Mobians in the seemingly small village that they'd discovered due to happenstance as they were taking specs for Robotnik who was looking for a new sector to build additional bases.

As-a-matter-of-fact, the entire mission had been pretty routine, as impromptu as it was. The two of them were in the Great Forest excavating the area when they saw two little fox girls playing hide and seek in a remote part of the meadow. Upon seeing two humanoid men they ran hurriedly back to their village presumably to notify the others.

Given the use of their infrared heat sensors and sonar radar, it wasn't very difficult to find the villagers once they were tipped off that they were there. The two immediately called for back-up which was there in minutes, and they proceeded to infiltrate and capture the villagers.

Packbell looked across the vast array of Mobians, swatbots, assistant and worker bots, as well as the devices that were being used to transport captives to and fro. It was the picture of order. Not one thing was happening that wasn't supposed to. Yet the android couldn't help but notice someone was missing, "Just where in the hell is Hudson?" He said, a flourish of irritation in his voice.

As if in answer, there was an ominous gutteral noise coming from just beyond the hills followed by a flock of birds who suddenly fled their leafy shelter. They all looked at the hill crest and for moments, nothing remained to be seen.

Just when everyone were beginning to wonder if they were only hearing things they all saw a sight so ghastly and startling that they were sure that they had been dreaming.

Hundreds of beasts, dog-like in appearance were beginning to make their way down from the crest of the hill at amazing speed. Their movement was reminiscent of grey-hounds, but they looked like a cross between hairless swine and bulls; their rippling muscle fibers bulging against their sickly puce-colored flesh as they came flooding down the hill like a tidal wave.

They gnashed their fangs angrily as they quickly approached the now panicked crowd of prisoners. People began to cry and scream and struggle against the swatbots.

The swatbots themselves, not having expected this threat let go of their captives and pointed their guns in the direction of this new clear and present threat.

The pandemonium ensued as the hundreds of newly freed Mobians scattered down the hill of the meadow to attempt to find shelter. Even Snively had, at this point, found a hiding place in a near-by alcove. He had been so afraid that he mostly operated on instinct when he dove into the hole.

Packbell on the other hand, was up and alert. Being an android gifted with super strength and speed, he had no fear of these beasts that were running toward him. Raising his weapon, he switched the settings from stun to kill and had began his assault, shooting every single beast that moved, the swatbots following suit.

Packbell and his legion of swatbots had been heavily outnumbered. But what was perplexing was that none of the herd seemed to be interested in Packbell or the swatbots, as all that hadn't been shot went after the Mobians who were now fleeing from the seen, into the brush.

The swatbots continued their assault of laser fire on the wild gluttons, and in turn, they continued their descent on the Mobians.

The android began to possess some sense of insight of exactly who was responsible. In the midst of the melee past flashes of laser fire, beast, and blood, he could have sworn he heard the sound of a woman's laughter. Turning to look in the direction his assumptions had been confirmed; a petite human woman with long flowing hair donned in a uniform identical to Packbell's, the uniform of the Robotropolian commanders. Her jet black locks flailed wildly behind her as she ran round a big tree, brandishing a flamethrower as she assailed a group of Mobian children who had sought refuge in the tree's broad, tall limbs.

Her laugh was as joyful as it was maniacal and was rivaled only by the terrified shrieks of the children as they clambered up the tree to get away from the intermittent fire blasts from her torch. She pranced around like an impish fairy in this sick rendition of 'hide and seek'.

"...Fucking_ bitch_!" He hissed feeling overcome with a surge of cold rage.

He raced over at full speed amidst the chaos that surrounded him and got to the assailant just in time to stop her from activating the contraption, jerking it away from the tree, white flames shooting just past the tree full of shrieking children.

She turned around, her green eyes meeting his red and black ones.

"You little _cunt_!" Packbell shouted inches away from the petite woman's face as loudly as he could, "Why in hell would you sic your fucking dogs on us while were trying to contain _prisoners_? Were you _trying_ to fuck up this mission?"

As he went on to berate her with insults, speaking with all of the outraged indignation of an aristocrat. She looked up at him with a confused frown seeming not to really see him. She suddenly seemed dazed and disoriented, as if waking up from a dream.

She then seemed to get her bearings, and finally focusing on the android's face, she burst into a fit of giggles.

He paused, now it was his turn to seem dazed, "You think this is fucking_ funny_?"

"Of course I think it's fucking funny!" She burst out jubilantly, somewhat childishly, "It's hilarious! Look at you! You've got the full on 'eleven' going!" she said referring to the way the skin of his brow ridge crinkled as he frowned.

The android's eyes went wide, "Hudson..." he hissed grabbing her roughly by the shoulder, "Are you too retarded or insane to remember that during missions, captives are supposed to be brought back alive, otherwise, they _can't be robotisized_...?" he stressed every syllable while speaking through his white even teeth, giving his handsome face a most primal menacing grimace.

Hudson rolled her eyes, swiftly pushing his hand off her, seeming completely unaffected by the android's intense aggravation "You shouldn't act like such a prick, you'll give yourself wrinkles." she blithely remarked, stifling a giggle.

"Look around you Hudson!" Packbell shouted, his anger afresh at her defiant mirth, "Look at this clusterfuck of a mess! This is all your fault! It's gonna be hours before we can clean this shit up and go home!"

"Oh gods! Listen to you…'Look at this mess! I wanna go home! Do you need some privacy to take off your dress Nancy? You sound more and more like you-" Hudson trailed off as something had suddenly caught her attention.

Her eyes grew wide like two saucers overtaking her small alabastrine face. Packbell turned trying to follow her gaze. But before he had the chance to ask her what her problem was, she let out a death shriek, a scream that was so loud and miserable; it was like agony and torment in the form of a sound.

The nozzle to the flame thrower bounced as it trailed behind her on the ground as she ran over to the line of swatbots that were taking pot shots at the beastly animals.

"Hold your fire!" She screamed, leaving sizable dents in their metal exteriors as she pummeled them with fists of fury. Her small stature clearly defied her immense strength. They stopped at once, turning toward her for further instruction, "Stand down, NOW!" she screeched, her face twisted into a horrified scowl. The swatbots lowered their firearms and stood at attention.

She turned around, her eyes flashing, "_Why would you order the swatbots to kill my puppies_?" she had blared every word like some raving madwoman.

Now it was Packbell's turn to roll his eyes. But he said nothing, he knew she absolutely understood what had happened. The swatbots were programmed to thwart any oncoming danger with which they were presented. But it wasn't worth reminding her of this when she began to behave this way.

Hudson began to rub her head and face as if to scour them with her hands. It was like she was so angry, she didn't know what to with herself. She pulled at her copious locks of hair while making strained shrieking noises.

Packbell, who was unmoved avid this disturbing scene was surprised when Hudson suddenly stopped, narrowing her gaze at him, then shifted her gaze to the area of space just past him.

One of Packbell's most prized possessions was his hover-cycle which accompanied him on nearly every mission. He spend a surprising amount of time maintaining it. At this point in time, it oblivious and unsuspecting of the malicious intentions of this crazed woman.

Packbell, seeing the trail of her gaze, and guessing the ill will she sought to cause by way of destroying an asset that he considered near and dear to him gave immediate chase. The pursued broke into a sprint, raising her flame thrower nozzle high in the air.

Hudson's head start gave her the upper hand. Before Packbell could react, she stuck the nozzle into the fuel line of the hover cycle, turning it on full blast.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The force of the resulting explosion sent a ripple that curled through the ground. The two went flying along with the nearby swatbots, captives, and some of the 'pups' that were in the surrounding area. It caused a considerable amount of damage given its small size.

Hudson had landed on Packbell, and upon getting her bearings, fiercely rained on the droid's head with punches before being kicked off and sent into an adjacent tree. Unphased, the woman got back up and getting a running start, launched herself at the automaton. With that, the two commenced a wrestling match.

Snively, having crawled out of his hiding place had been watching this entire debacle with a feeling of dread wondering how things could possibly get any worse.

Just then one of the assistant bots walked up to him with a console in hand. "For you sir" the bot said in an automated female voice, "Dr. Robotnik."

"Oh, gods!" He murmured to himself exasperated. He took the console and stared into it, seeing the form of his uncle, the tyrant as grim and angry as always. "Yes, Sir?" He spoke with a cool and detached air.

"Snively!" Robotnik said, half growling, half shouting, "Where are Hudson and Packbell?"

Snively looked around. At that particular moment, Packbell was tugging at Hudson's hair as she tenaciously ripped the synthetic skin off his leg with her teeth. the dogs, now bored with their maimed prey began to play and fight amongst themselves while still others decided that now was the best time for a nap. As for the swatbots? Many of them didn't make it through the exposion. The grass was littered with pools of blood and shrapnel. It was a thorough mess.

"Well?" Robotnik urged, his voice laden with impatience.

"Uh.. busy, Sir"

"With what?" His voice had a razor sharp edge to it. He had no taste for ambiguity.

"Well, with capturing prisoners sir, you see-"

"Gimme one good reason not to blow your fucking little head off you stupid little slut!" Packbell could be heard shouting at the top of his lungs.

"What was that?" the tyrant demanded.

"Packbell sir, just trying to keep those prisoners in line!" He now felt panic coming on as he feared that Robotnik would find out about the failures of the day, "We'll see you soon sir! Be back within the hour!" and before the tryant could respond he shut off the console. He would probably have hell to pay for that bit of insolence, but there was nothing else he could say or do for anyone's case at that point. It made more sense to postpone telling Robotnik that a routine mission has gone to shambles in mere minutes.

Meanwhile, Packbell was standing over Hudson who was lying flat on her back, her jacket in tatters, and her wild mane of jet black hair forming a blanket along the green grass , his laser rifle pressed to her head, "Gimme one reason", he repeated his uniform was in perfect disrepair as well. The pair looked like they'd been witness to come apocalyptic catastrophe.

Hudson narrowed her green eyes at the android. Seeming indifferent to her perilous situation.

Suddenly, she burst into peals of uproarious laughter. As if some unknown entity were tickling her.

Just when Packbell looked as though he may pull the trigger, he heard Snively's voice.

"Stop!" Squeaked Snively who was running toward them down the hill as quickly as his legs could carry him.

Packbell did not take his eyes off of Hudson, and Hudson for the life of her, could not stop laughing.

The little man had finally caught up with the two, but his presence did nothing to ease the tension of the standoff, at least as far as the android was concerned.

"Packbell!" he whined. "We've already got enough to deal with, how do you suppose we're going to explain this to Robotnik?"

"Oh c'mon Sniv, it's not like I can _kill_ her..." his sense of playfulness coming back. "...And her brains would make such _pretty_ colors..."

Snively felt like he worked at a sanatorium. Always having to talk volatile, _crazy_ people out of doing illogical and dangerous things.

"Packbell," he said, his voice suddenly firm, "We are in the heart of the Great Forest, in the middle of a mission. I understand that blowing Hudson's brains all over the meadow is tempting, but you have ample time and resources to do this once we've gone home. _Please_ be reasonable...? Please?" he was irritated, he was tired, and most of all, he wanted to go home. He would have said or done anything at that moment to call off the impasse. Hudson, apparently, was way ahead of him.

"Aww, who are you kidding Sweetcheeks...?" she said in a coquettish voice, "We_ all_ know where you _really_ wanna shoot me..." She grabbed the rifle muzzle, guiding it to the spot in the center of her chest.

The android narrowed his gaze at the woman. The exchange that they shared in glances denoted something that went much farther than a petty squabble on the field. Reluctantly, he withdrew his weapon.

Snively breathed a sigh of relief. But this was a feeling that was short-lived as his thoughts went back to the gargantuan mess that the three commanders had to clean up.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The notes of the aria seemed to float along the vast space of the meadow. The sound was light and sweet yet had a distinctive strength of pitch. The singer was a small ground squirrel who stood amidst the dancers as they twirled and twisted about her, keeping in rhythm with her angelic versus. Not older than 8, her presence was that of an old soul.

She stood amidst the villagers of Knothole who looked upon her with a sense of pride as if she were their own daughter. That seemed to be the consensus that everyone shared that evening. It were as if their own daughter were lifting her voice to the heavens.

The song was for everyone, but there was one person in particular who was being celebrated that night, and who the little ground squirrel was singing her heart out for most of all.

At the end of the aria, the fire dancers bowed and the young girl soaked up the applause, but mostly looking up at the throne that she stood before frantically searching for approval.

Still unsure by the enduring gaze she met, she decided it would be appropriate to ask outright, "Did you like the song Mommy?"

Sally, the occupant of said throne smiled warmly at her young daughter, "You've outdone yourself my love, I'm so proud of you!" and indeed she was. Young Daelyn was proving to be quite the little diva.

The child beamed smile that both melted and broke her heart.

"Happy Birthday Mommy! I love you!"

Sally got up and knelt in front of the throne. Her eyes welling up with tears of pride as she outstretched her arms, the smaller squirrel running out to meet them.

"I love you Daelyn, thank you. Ill carry this in my heart forever."

The audience looked on, again, partaking in this loving moment between mother and daughter. Knothole had always been a close-knit community, but on nights like these, in celebrating their queen's birthday, it felt as though they had all been brought up in the royal house.

Daelyn broke her embrace with her mother, backing away from the throne with a mischievous grin on her small face. "Now we all get to sing!"

"What?" Sally said confused, just then, a magnificently decorated multi-layered cake that was laced to its very top by candles was rolled out.

"Okay everyone!" the small squirrel started, already, she was showing a lot of promise as a leader, "It's time to sing Happy Birthday to Queen Sally! So we all have to sing really loud on three, kay? One, two, three..."

The crowd then joined in a chorus of Sally's birthday song and needless to say, there were some members of the crowd that were not a vocally gifted as their songbird princess, but what shone through above all was the love that they all shared for their queen.

She had a sober smile on her face, absorbing the good will for all of the partygoers. She couldn't help but reflect on the ways that Knothole had grown and changed over the years. Between the Mobians that had been freed from Robotnik in addition to the other Freedom Fighter groups and tribes who have joined with Knothole, what was once a tiny village used as a refugee camp for the Mobians, was now a thriving community- A secret kingdom in the heart of the Great Forest.

She tried her best to concentrate on these aspects of the celebration to take her thoughts off of the nagging ache in her heart that was always worse every year at this time. Her eyes searched the faces of her followers meeting nothing but pure loyalty and adulation.

She continued to search, attempting to break some invisible wall that she sometimes felt between herself and the Knothole villagers. The same wall she'd felt ever since she'd taken the crown to be queen.

Suddenly she met a pair of eyes more familiar that the rest.

Miles Prower, more popularly known as Tails, was looking at Sally with the same stoicism that she had.

The two exchanged a gaze so poignant that for Sally, it may very well have been the warmest of embraces.

"...Happy Birthday to you!" the crowd ended, cheering .

After quieting down, they all stood there awaiting one of Sally's famous speeches that always managed to inspire no matter what the subject.

"Thank you, thank you all for coming and sharing this special day with me."

She paused momentarily to gaze into Daelyn's big brown eyes, noting how the firelight illuminated her silken head of electric blue hair, she wanted to hold the image in her mind and heart forever.

"You know, it's not everyday that you turn 35. Some may call it middle age, but I call it lucidity. I finally feel like I have a sense of presence in this life. And you all have has such a big part of that. I'm so proud that I've gotten the chance to see this village grow to what it now is. I've had the chance to see unions amongst yourselves- and the births of your children. I feel like every day we're coming closer to a free Mobius!" The crowd erupted into applause at this. They couldn't help it. The mere mention of overthrowing their tyrannical ruler sent them to a fever pitch. Sally indulged them for a moment, and then motioned for them to quiet down.

"You all have been with me at my best as well as my worst. You've helped me through my trials and tribulations as well as celebrated mile stones with me; My coronation, Daelyn's birth, my wedding day." She stopped as if to get her bearings, "...as well as events that have been as trying as they have been heartbreaking for me- for all of us..."

She felt her throat tighten and she had to use just about all her willpower to keep the sting of salty tears from reaching her eyes. She decided the best thing would be to keep the speech short, "I love you all. Please, enjoy yourselves. I wish you all the happiness that you've brought me today and through the years."

With that, she descended the throne approaching the cake.

"Time to blow out the candles Mommy!" Daelyn had ordered in a cheerful but authoritative tone. Sally looked at her daughter, so delightful and bold and couldn't help but to fall into chimes of laughter.

"Queen Sally!" The pleasant moment was suddenly interrupted by a shout from the back of the gathering. Sally watched, concerned as the crowd made a hole to reveal the badly injured Jonas draped over the shoulder of the village physician Ayala; a statuesque doe donned in a white lab coat, her face adorned with glasses.

"Jonas?" The queen quickly recognized him as her lead guard. He had been on leave to visit his mother who was on her death bed and was set to come back the day before. Sally had assumed that he'd been waylaid, but now, she feared the worst.

She motioned for some girls to fetch some water then took a place on the ground next to Ayala who was using her own lap as a pillow for Jonas.

"He's badly injured, but he'll be okay" the doctor confirmed.

Sally laid a maternal hand on Jonas' forehead, "Jonas," she said softly, but firmly, "Who did this to you?"

Jonas rasped as he drew in a breath. Sally waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts, "Swats..." he said.

Sally quietly exhaled. So it was as bad as she had expected, possibly a little worse considering Jonas' wounds. He'd had some bite marks and lacerations that looked grim.

"Tell me what happened."

"...passed through a village on the way back to Knothole... Packbell and Snively were spotted in a clearing not far away... we tried to evacuate... we were too late. Their backup came... razed the village... captured everybody". He paused as the doctor gave him a sip of water to drink, "They set to load us in the cages... and then those dogs...!"

"Dogs?" Ayala chimed in, "what, you mean like henchmen?"

"No!" He said, his voice full of anguish, "...a whole legion of those four-legged demons- ugly as anything you could thing of! I did what I could to try to help everybody but...they were too strong.. .they ripped 'em to shreds" Jonas continued to tell his account of the horrors that had occurred earlier that day. How the beasts has relentlessly dragged them all back to containment, how everyone had been maimed. How the woman with dark hair pranced about in celebration amidst the calamity.

Finally, he had erupted into a bout of hacking dry coughing. Ayala gave Sally a look that denoted that Jonas shouldn't answer anymore questions. Sally nodded and the tiger was taken away.

Sally's heart had nearly stopped at the mention of _her_. She was gripped with a panic that shook her to the core. She was suddenly like a child that feared the boogey-man in the shadows all the more frightening because this boogey-man, boogey-_woman_ was real- as real as herself.

She tried to make a quick assessment of the situation, and stood up to address the crowd of Knothole village who was now standing at attention awaiting instructions from their queen.

"Robotnik's henchmen have been seen at a village not far from here." she spoke in a calm, even tone that denoted no distress. No one could tell that at this very moment her heart felt like it was fracturing. "At this time, no one is to leave Knothole for any reason until we know that we're safe."

With that, Sally started to leave the meadow, Daelyn rushing quickly behind her. The child didn't understand exactly what was going on, but she seemed to know the situation was serious. The first two people that walked up to Sally, to her great relief, were Tails and her best friend, Bunnie Rabbot.

The three were dressed to the nines. Tails in a black tux, Bunnie, in a mauve-colored gown, and Sally wore a white gown with blue trim topped off with a polos crown. She didn't care for getting dressed up, but Daelyn and Bunnie had both insisted, and to assure that she looked nothing less than spectacular, they had attended to her in her dressing room before the celebration. How Sally had wished that her biggest problem at that moment could have been what to wear.

Saying nothing, the fox laid a reassuring arm around her shoulders. He, who was now a strapping young man had eventually grown to be taller that his 'aunt' Sally. Bunnie had grabbed on to her hand giving it a tight squeeze and with that the three made off the war room.

"Ah guess we got our work cut out for us, eh Sally-girl?" Bunnie always tried to be upeat about situations despite their gravity. Sally gave a weak smile.

As the three made their way through the now dispersing crowd, the Knothole villagers, now an austere and sullen comparison to their joyful and outgoing selves, went back to their respective huts, Sally couldn't help her thoughts from wandering. The dark terror all came flooding back to her.

Today was her 35th birthday, but it also marked the 8-year anniversary of Sonic's death.

Since the age of 16, Sally with the help of the Freedom Fighters had fought a bitter war with Robotnik and those who had aligned themselves with his empire. She had had to be fearless in order to attempt to restore the Mobian Kingdom. This was mostly made possible by the fact that she had Sonic Hedgehog, the champion of Mobius, by her side.

Sally's hatred of Robotnik and all that he represented would never wane. Although they had a blood feud that was immortalized, he was not the one to blame for her most recent and most revolting of injuries...

_She_ was.

Hudson was her name. And as far as Sally was concerned, she was the most dangerous person in all of Mobius.

She was Robotnik's successor in soullessness. She was a viper, a psychopath, someone who's only joy was to bring about the misery of others. Never had Sally encountered someone who was so exquisitely proficient in exploiting the fears and weaknesses of others.

It was an effort for Sally to keep her senses at the mere mention of the woman's name- someone who made the blood in her veins run cold.

It had been 8 years since the death of her husband... Daelyn's father. A father that the girl had never known

She was bombarded with the many images were seared forever into her memory. She remembered that night like a cruel nightmare. Confusion, the screaming, the running, overwhelming fear... everything awash in blood...

...Blood on her own hands.

It was as if Hudson had held a part of her. And now all that was left was a raw wound that the woman could manipulate no matter where she was.

But it was something that also took hold of her sense of sacrament, a hallowed thing. Something that forced her to observe those things in her life that were most sacred and dear to her. Things that she had sworn to protect, even if only a memory. This was the very reason that she forced herself to composure. She forced her heart to stop its thundering in her chest. She forced herself to breath normally.

She had a purpose in life that was greater than herself, and she would need to be the example of unmoving strength that her people needed.

Her breathing calmed, her heart slowed down. She climbed the steps leading to the war room. Bringing herself to full height, she took her place at the head of the war room table.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The three commanders had finally gotten the mess in the meadow sorted out. The dogs, prisoners, and swatbots had all been loaded into their respective containment cells, and were all going back to Robotropolis headquarters.

Packbell, who was still vexed at Hudson for nearly ruining the mission, picked yet another fight, demanding to know exactly why she would do something as stupid as she had. She swore up and down that the reason was because of _his_ explicit call for back-up. She also asserted that if he hadn't had his head 'so far up his ass', perhaps things wouldn't have gotten so out of hand.

They minced words and the situation for the second time escalated to the point where Packbell reacquainted Hudson with the business end of his rifle.

Snively had somehow managed to talk them out of killing each other once again after which things finally began to die down.

Currently, Packbell was muttering obscenities to himself while trying to staple the skin back onto his wounded leg, another token previously suffered his female counterpart. The damage wouldn't be permanent, it wouldn't even leave a scar. Hell, it didn't even hurt him. But he was a perfectionist, especially when it came to his appearance. And he deeply resented having a wound from the likes of that wench.

Snively was hustling to rework the report to make sure Dr. Robotnik didn't spot the discrepancies that prisoners getting eaten might show. The lackey couldn't help the waves of anxiety in his mind. Would Robotnik find out about the calamity that had befallen the mission? Would he remember that Snively had practically hung up on him? Would he notice that some of the prisoners were injured to the point of death? Not to mention what a mess Hudson and Packbell were in. While these were all small details in the grand scheme of things, Julian had beaten him within an inch of his life for far more minor offenses. The lackey had gotten very acquainted with His uncle and his abusive anger often catching the butt end of it.

Then again, after so many years, he had grown somewhat apathetic about the tyrant's abuses. How long could he live in such an intense and constant state of fear? What was the point of jumping like a jack-rabbit every time he heard his name? What was more was the fact that as the years went on; Robotnik seemed more and more disinterested in being abusive to Snively.

Whether it was old age, boredom, or some combination of the two, it didn't matter. Both men seemed to have grown apart in their perverted relationship.

Nevertheless, he couldn't keep his head from spinning when he though about how quickly things had gotten out of hand in the forest.

His eyes narrowed in Hudson's direction.

She certainly did have a gift for making trouble. What was worse was that at times, she was completely oblivious of this fact. She carried mayhem and chaos around with her like accessories.

But at least Hudson wasn't an asshole like Packbell or Julian. In fact, of all of them, Hudson was the one who was the most capable of showing compassion, albeit usually in an awkward and rather odd way.

Even now she was inconsolable at the sight her wounded animals. She sat at their side cooing and singing to the beasts. Although quite a freakish sight, as these animals could easily rip her to shreds, there was a certain tenderness that she seemed to have for them.

It was then that she stopped, tilting her head as if to hear a noise.

It had been difficult enough to hear one's own thoughts in the bay of the craft. The prisoners, most of who could not stand, were moaning and writhing around on the floor of the cells. The agonized noises they made as a group could make the hair stand on end. Yet some obscure sound had stood out to her above all of this.

She looked around at the different holding cells trying to identify the noise that she'd heard. Suddenly, it became of the most importance. She seemed to suddenly sniff around, taking on a rather carnal air of her own.

All of the sudden she'd stopped. Her face brightened as she seemed to find what she was looking for; a small tabby kitten, not older than 5, was weeping piteously. She was badly injured; she had deep laceration along her face. Some of the fur along her arms had been pulled off leaving open red flesh. Hudson looked as if she wanted to eat her.

So small, so sweet and innocent she was with a little pink nose and red lips. Her angel-like image made her wounds all the more glaring.

But she was oblivious to all of this. The child was too rapt in her own pain and misery which she seemed to be splintering under the weight of.

"Oh! You poor baby!" Hudson cooed, her concern almost sounded genuine. She reached through the bars to touch her lightly on her delicate chin. "You sweet little thing, so pretty too! What pretty eyes you have! You probably have your mother's eyes, don't you?..."

"Mommy!" the child wailed—it had been as if Hudson had knowingly triggered some tragic flood of emotion. She curled to a fetal position toward the woman's gentle caress.

"Aww..." the woman cooed once more. Hudson's own bright pouty lips trembled ever so slightly as she paused thinking about how to capitalize on this amazing find.

"What's your name, my darling, _darling_ child?" Her tone was feather soft and she was as maternal as could be. Any half-wit could see that this woman had the most vindictive undertakings for this child. But this little girl, only just getting to know the world in all it's cruelties had no idea of the treachery that threatened to befall her. All she knew in that point in time was her immense pain, physical and emotional and that this strange, hairless woman was making her feel better.

Hudson stroked the kitten's flaxen hair that had been drenched with blood. The feeling of this sticky solution on her fingers gave her delicious tingles.

The kitten blinked, tears rolling out of her bright blue eyes.

"My name is Taylor." she squeaked meekly.

"Oh! Taylor! Well, that's a beautiful name!" She laid it on thick, "And what happened to your Mommy, my sweet?"

"Oh for the gods' sake..." Snively muttered to himself. It wasn't the first time that he'd been witness to her brand of entertainment.

"I don't know!" Taylor sniffled.

"You _don't know_?" Hudson feigned shock. She had an obvious flare for play-acting. "Why Taylor, you must have some idea of what happened to her. Come now, tell Auntie Hudson what's happened to Mommy..."

The little girl let out a small wail. Hudson stifled a giggle.

"Well, wherever she is," She gently resumed, "I bet you miss her very much, don't you, my love?"

She nodded her little head in earnest.

"You wanna be with her right now don't you?"

"Mommy!" she continued her crying and clutching at the human's arm. Hudson took another moment staring at the small girl, her eyes flickering like two emerald flames.

"Taylor..." She turned the small kittens head toward her own getting full eye contact, "I know what happened to your Mommy..." Hudson purred- her voice growing dark.

"You do?" Taylor's eyes grew wide at the mention of the whereabouts of her mother. She was too young and too hopeful to notice all of the bright red flags telling her that she was in danger of further agony at the hands of this cruel woman.

"Yes... I do..." she hissed. Taylor cried out as the woman rested a hand on the lacerations on her face "And you'll be with her soon my dear..." Taylor began to squirm as Hudson started to play with her gaping flesh, completely enraptured with the feeling of the open raw wound, how queer it felt, "...she's dead. And by nightfall..." she dug her finger into the girls raw wound and whispered, "you will be too."

The child's screams could be heard above all other noise. Her little hands gripped tightly around those of the woman as she struggled to make this excruciating pain stop.

Hudson had a death grip on the small child, her eyes were half closed and she wore an expression of sheer ecstasy as if she were feeding off the pain of this defenseless innocent like some wanton succubus.

"Murderer!" Another voice raised from the pit of despair in that stronghold- An older woman, a grey fox with white hair. She was using her good arm, as the other had been held subject to the whims of Hudson's pups, to crawl toward the sickening scene.

"Murderers! The whole lot of you! Nothing but cruel murderers! And you!" She spoke directly addressing the commandress. "You witch! You deserve to burn for what you've done!"

Hudson considered the woman for a moment as if contemplating what to say, and then suddenly clutching the bars of the cell with her blood covered fingers and baring her teeth, she discharged a rancorous hiss. Completely aghast by such a reaction, the old woman shrank away, scared mute.

Seemingly satisfied, she sprung up and took her seat next to Packbell.

The android chuckled in spite of himself, shaking his head in awe. "...Crazy bitch..." he murmured, even he couldn't help but to have a _little_ admiration for her.

"Good to see you all back from your mission..." Robotnik drawled. Even when he tried to sound pleasant, mildly sinister was the best he could manage. "I assume that it went well?". Strangely, he hadn't seem to notice the utter disarray in which Packbell and Hudson had presented themselves. But the doctor was in the habit of being quite self-absorbed and sometimes failed to notice things right in his face.

"Extremely successful, sir" Snively said walking over to Robotnik and handing him a stack of paper. These are the reports. we've captured 459 prisoners sir, that more than we've gotten in-"

Robotnik impatiently waved the lackey away like an insect and quickly flipped through the pages of the report, grumbling to himself. After a few seconds, he shoved the papers aside.

"Good job to you all" he stated flippantly, "I'm glad that we've gotten this out of the way. I have an _extremely_ important announcement to make"

The three commanders resisted the urge to groan in despair. They were counting on a quick meeting where they went over statistics, and talked over areas of Robotropolis that needed more security. It was boring, but they all could deal with it. Nothing was worse than meetings where Robotnik would rant and rave about some plan or other that been festering in his demented mind that he wanted to finally bring into fruition. Some of the most insufferable aspects of his personality reared when he got into this manic state.

"As you all very well know..." he began, "It's been 30 years since my initial takeover of Mobius. And the majority of these years has been riddled with harassment from those damned Freedom Fighters brats!"

Snively gave a quiet, albeit exasperated exhale. Hudson slumped across the table, her chin resting on her palm, Packbell crossed his arms and stared at Robotnik, his face adorned with a scowl. They looked like a group of students preparing for a boring professor's lecture.

"...For years I've been subject to the outright disrespect and insolence of these revolting vermin. They've come into my kingdom, my _home_, to commit extreme acts of terrorism. Unforgivable acts of destruction and treason." He sounded genuinely disgusted, never mind that he now sitting on a usurped throne, and roboticized countless Mobians by the day.

As Robotnik continued, Hudson drifted off into a profusion of daydreams as she usually did when he made his droning speeches laden with egotism and pomposity. Her thoughts brought her back to the images of that day; the way that her "pups" had washed over the crowd of Mobian prisoners like a bloody wave. The way blood and shrapnel had covered the field like some beautiful mosaic, the look on her little kitten's face when she told her the whereabouts of her mommy...She felt tingles go up her spine as if thinking about some lover.

That was how Hudson felt about her work in Robotropolis. Capture, interrogation, torture, maiming, the list went on and on. These were the things that she had been born to do, literally.

Hudson was a clone; A direct result of Robotnik's immense ego and confidence in his own abilities as well as his desire to prove his power over all natural forces.

He wanted to make a flawless combatant. Someone who was not susceptible to illness. Someone capable of the highest level of intelligence and creativity- he knew that these two values were most fatal when they went hand in hand. For further assurance, he used his own DNA, because he, of course, was the most intelligent and creative person that he knew...

He'd slaved for months working tirelessly like a sculptor perfecting a working of art. He made all the adjustments and changes needed to make for a perfect genetic specimen. The fact that he had bombarded the embryo with the intense power of the chaos emerald didn't hurt things either.

The resulting product was a near demi-goddess who was impervious to pain and could regenerate quickly from almost any injury. Gifted with cat-like reflexes and super speed, she was more than a formidable opponent.

But of course, she was not without her flaws, although they were not many in number, they were quite abominable. She was emotionally labile, considerably insane and insatiably sadistic, it was apparent that Robotnik's creations had a propensity toward mental corruption.

Hudson frowned, She had been stirred out of her delicious thoughts by something strange that she'd thought she heard Robotnik say. She slowly sat at attention and began to follow his words very carefully.

"...I trust you all know the effects that acid rain caused by poisonous gases in the atmosphere has on the surrounding brush... Until now, this is something that was a mere source of amusement for me..."

With that, Robotnik opened a window on the hologram deck that showed a 3 dimensional representation of the Great Forest.

The image quickly changed revealing an erupting volcano, "I'm sure you all recognize this... the Great Volcano located at the Mobian equator. This volcano alone produces more of the poisonous gases than all of my factories, all over Mobius combined. Reports show that when it erupted 100 years ago, it emitted so much ash and poisonous gas that the resulted acid rain storm lasted for 2 weeks killing vegetation on Mobius and subsequently causing a short ice age."

Hudson's throat was beginning to go dry. She was hoping against hope that Robotnik wasn't alluding to what she thought he was... He couldn't be, there was no way... she had to have heard something wrong.

"Correct me if I'm wrong sir," Snively piped up as if reading her mind, "But are you suggesting that we cause an eruption to the Great Volcano to wipe out life on Mobius?"

"No, no, no... of course that won't work. One mere eruption is not going to cause the conditions needed to cause a global catastrophe..." He paused, "_But ten will_!" his face was adorned with that characteristic grin, and his red and black eyes widened giving him a most maniacal grimace.

Hudson's head swirled with confusion as the screen once again changed showing several gargantuan drills penetrating the soil scaling down to the core of the planet.

"It would take an explosion, most likely of epic proportion to create the force needed to cause a mass eruption..."

Panic had struck Hudson in her very heart like a blade. If Robotnik was referencing what she feared he was, it would not only mean the end of Mobius, it would surely mean the end of her.

She could hardly wrap her head around it; black billowing clouds of ash choking the sky. Severing the connection between the sun and all life. Mobius shrouded in a cloak of darkness. It would be like some kind of purgatory. No. It would be much more like Hell.

"Sir...?" Hudson spoke up, her voice slightly small and shaky, "You… _really_ mean to destroy _all_ life on Mobius? "

"Of course, my dear!" he began to speak quickly and excitedly, "For years, I've been wondering how I can do away with these damn pests! Even after the demise of the hedgehog, they still remain an insufferable scourge, the whole lot of them! Their mere existence churns my insides. But to be rid of them... YES! To be rid of them once and for all...I can finally and truly mold Mobius into _my_ image!"

She could have died right then.

For a moment, everyone had fallen silent.

Just then, Packbell, who up until this point had been watching Hudson's every reaction like a vulture waiting to swoop, stood and began a slow sarcastic applause.

"Well _thank_ you sir!" he began sardonically, "For _years_ it's been an uphill battle and finally you've decided to take the upper hand! You alpha dog you!"

"Well thank you Packbell," Said Robotnik in complete earnest, oblivious to the fact that Packbell was making fun of him.

"And aren't we a lucky bunch?" Packbell said sauntering halfway around the table and stopping at the space between Hudson and Snively, "Aren't we lucky to have a leader like the good Doctor? Hmm? Look at how hard he works to take care of all us." He stooped down at the table resting his chin in his hands looking up dreamily at their leader, now it was his turn to lay in on thick.

"Things are looking up from here- I got a feelin'. Mobius'll be a true barren wasteland... it'll be a wonder if _anything survives_. I just... get... choked up thinking about it. But you all know how sappy I can be...

"Just think of it... Snively won't have to screw up reports anymore, I won't have to bag and tag all these mangy rodents. Whaddoya think Hudson?" Packbell slung an arm around her shoulder, "How are you gonna spend your early retirement?"

She hadn't been listening to him, she was staring, wide eyed, at the image on the hologram, gripping the table as if she were hanging on for dear life.

"Look at that, Sir! She's so amazed at your genius that she's catatonic!"

"Well, indeed it is a lot to take," Robotnik said noting that her demeanor was rather strange, "Let's adjourn this meeting until tomorrow when I can go into the details of this plan." and with that, he rose out of his chair, descending his throne.

"A plan to remember sir!" said Packbell giving the emperor an jovial slap on the back. "A celebration is in order! Do you still take that fermented grape drink? The carbonated one that Snively always hides a bottle of in his underwear drawer? Oh Snively, never mind how I know where it is... just go get that bottle of that fizzy grape stuff..."

The men all exited leaving Hudson by herself sitting in dejected silence.

Her thoughts were racing, and the only thing she was able to do was stare at the menacing image of Mobius going to ruin- Torn apart by a mass eruption of volcanoes.

Why would anyone want to lay such chaotic waste to her beautiful planet? A lush and beautiful land with beautiful people. Mobians who she had yet to see and meet. Mobians with beliefs to corrupt. With hopes and dreams yet to be crushed and demoralized. Mobians with bodies to break. Precious nerve endings to explore and exploit.

Those were things that it had taken her a lifetime to get to know were to be ripped away from her in mere days. Soon, all of Mobius was going to be desolate and barren just like...

Robotropolis.

Hudson's devastation suddenly gave way to immense rage. What kind of a person would do such a thing to such a place?

Robotnik would.

To everything that he touched, he laid waste.

Hudson had become so angry that she began to grow frightened. It took a moment for her to realize that she had left deep scratches in the metal table where she'd been digging her nails. She wrung her hands, she could think of no other thing but to go back to her chambers. But she swore to herself at that moment that she could not stand by and allow _her_ precious planet to be destroyed.


End file.
